By Ezeh Emmanuel Ezeh PhD
A few days ago, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) threw down an ultimatum to Mr. Peter Obi and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai: join us or forget about the coalition. It was the kind of political chest-thumping that might stir headlines but barely moves hearts. In truth, it was laughable. Because without Peter Obi, there is no coalition. He is the heartbeat of any serious opposition movement.
Ask the okada rider in Onitsha who now wears a Labour Party cap with pride. Ask the university student in Nsukka who quotes Peter Obi’s speeches like scripture. Ask the market woman in Aba who says, “Na Obi I go vote, even if na only him dey contest.” These are believers, not just voters. And belief, in politics, is more powerful than machinery.
ADC, for all its ambition, is not the platform. Nigerians know three parties: LP, PDP, and APC. APGA lingers in the background, a regional whisper. ADC? It’s like that distant cousin who shows up at family meetings with big ideas but no contribution. The reality is clear: Peter Obi is the nucleus. Everyone else is orbiting.
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, seasoned and strategic, must now confront a sobering truth. He is holding a deck of recycled cards while Peter Obi holds all the aces. Atiku’s name still carries weight in the North, but it’s not the kind of weight that moves hearts anymore. Meanwhile, Obi’s name is sung in churches, debated in beer parlours, and scribbled on the back of keke napep seats. He’s more than a candidate. He is a movement.
Peter Obi has two clear paths before him. One is to lead a united opposition front, bringing together PDP’s northern structure, Sowore’s orange-beret revolutionaries, APGA’s southeastern loyalty, and El-Rufai’s tactical mind. It would be a coalition of strange bedfellows, yes, but also a coalition with teeth. Imagine Obi standing on a podium in Kano, flanked by El-Rufai and Atiku, speaking Hausa with humility and Igbo with conviction. That image alone could shift the political tectonics.
The other path is the solo run. Obi could choose to go it alone under the Labour Party, focusing on delivering the South East, South South, and parts of the Middle Belt. Picture him in Enugu, embraced by elders and youths alike, promising a new dawn. In this scenario, he doesn’t need to win every state—he just needs to fracture APC’s southern base and force a runoff. And in a two-horse race, Obi’s clean record and moral clarity could be the deciding factor. The added icing on the cake is the possibility of retiring the entrenched political establishment that has kept the South East gasping for breath.
Either way, Peter Obi wins. Whether as the architect of a grand coalition or the lone reformer who defies the odds, his political capital is undeniable. He is the man who made young Nigerians believe again. The man who made politics feel personal, not transactional.
The next few months will be decisive. Will Obi choose unity or purity? Will Atiku swallow pride for progress? Will El-Rufai play kingmaker or contender?
Whatever happens, one thing is certain: the future of Nigeria’s opposition—and perhaps Nigeria itself—rests on the choices Peter Obi makes. And for now, he holds the pen that will write the next chapter.
No matter which path Peter chooses to take, he must be the one who leads a coalition that gives hope to desperate Nigerians looking up to him. Like Zik in the East, Buhari in the North, Awolowo in the West, and Abiola in the hearts of the oppressed, Obi must rise as a symbol of redemption.
